By STACY LIBERATORE, US SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY EDITOR
Published: 17:50 BST, 31 August 2026 | Updated: 18:40 BST, 31 August 2026
Scientists investigating a mysterious boat-shaped formation high in the mountains of Turkey have uncovered new clues that Noah’s Ark could be buried beneath it.
An international team examining the Durupınar Formation near Mount Ararat detected unusually high carbon levels in soil collected from inside its distinctive outline.
Tests found higher carbon levels inside the formation than in matching soil collected just a few yards away on the same hillside.
Researchers said the difference could point to a concentration of organic material, potentially the remains of ancient wood, although no timber has been recovered.
‘The amount of carbon coming from the interior of the ship is 40 percent higher than what was found outside,’ lead archaeologist Dr Cenker Atila said.
‘This raises the idea that there may be organic material or remains of wood.’
New radar scans also revealed underground anomalies that intersect at right angles, possibly indicating cavities or structural divisions beneath the surface.
The formation lies about 18 miles south of Mount Ararat, Turkey’s highest peak, and has fueled speculation about Noah’s Ark since it was identified in aerial photographs in 1959.
A ground-penetrating radar image maps unusual features hidden beneath the Durupınar Formation, with red and yellow markings identifying irregular and straight-edged anomalies
According to local reports, heavy rains and earthquakes in May 1948 washed away the surrounding mud, revealing the mysterious formation, which was discovered by a Kurdish shepherd.
According to the Bible, the massive vessel saved Noah, his family and every kind of animal from annihilation during a catastrophic flood that some biblical chronologies place more than 4,300 years ago.
Scripture also says that the Ark came to rest on the 'mountains of Ararat' after a 150-day flood that drowned the Earth and every living creature not sheltered inside the wooden vessel.
What is intriguing is that the formation sits near a mountain with a peak that some believe matches the ark's shape and dimensions.
